Actress Evan Rachel Wood accused her ex-boyfriend, rockstar Marilyn Manson, of abusing her during their years-long relationship.
“He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years. I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission,” Wood wrote in a Feb. 1 Instagram post.
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Wood stars in HBO’s hit show “Westworld” and dated Manson from 2007 to 2010, according to the Independent. The two were reportedly briefly engaged but broke up before getting married. “I met somebody that promised freedom and expression and no judgments,” she said of the relationship in a 2016 Rolling Stone profile. (RELATED: Evan Rachel Wood Reveals Bisexuality, Discusses Dating Marilyn Manson)
Wood testified in 2018 in front of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations about her experience as a sexual assault victim, although she did not name an abuser. “I truly felt like I could die. Not just because my abuser said to me, ‘I could kill you right now,’ but because in that moment I felt like I left my body and I was too afraid to run. He would find me.”
Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, was previously investigated for sexual assault in 2018. The Los Angeles District Attorney declined to file charges due to the expiration of the statute of limitations and a lack of corroborating evidence, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“The allegations made to the police were and are categorically denied by Mr. Warner and are either completely delusional or part of a calculated attempt to generate publicity for the claimant’s business of selling Manson memorabilia,” Manson’s attorney told The Hollywood Reporter.